Everything You Want
by katergator
Summary: Set during Race to the Edge. Astrid pulls a girl move and wonders why Hiccup doesn't seem to have such an obvious crush on her anymore, as in "you used to pay attention to me and now you don't and I don't like it." Too bad she can't keep her mouth shut about it, but it takes some coaxing to make Hiccup open his.


A little oneshot, set within the Dragons - Race to the Edge universe. This is my first attempt wading into the How to Train Your Dragon/Hiccstrid pool, so I hope I did them justice. This is just my little idea about why Hiccup and Astrid haven't become a couple yet and maybe how they remedy that :)

Enjoy!

* * *

She was beyond frustrated.

She had tried everything, and _nothing_ was working.

Summer gave way to a cooler fall and normally his little makeshift forge kept her warm while she watched him work, but tonight she felt none of its usual comfort.

The muscles in his back flexed while he hammered on a piece of glowing iron, holding it steady with a pair of large tongs. The sharp clanging ceased as he stopped to adjust his grip. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and the back of his tunic damp with sweat. She'd have to be blind not to notice how the thin material clung to slick skin or just how well he filled out that tunic these days. She noticed a lot of things about him lately, but the sentiment didn't seem to be mutual. This confused her to no end. Everything about him confused her.

Aside from his razor sharp wit, age and the looming pressure of chiefdom had taken its toll on him. She barely felt like she knew him anymore, and they were best friends. He played everything so close to the chest and it infuriated her that she didn't know where they stood.

When they were children his crush on her was obvious. He was cute in that awkward kind of way but too many obstacles prevented her from getting to know him better. Despite their differing social circles he still entertained his infatuation with her. He may have thought he was being inconspicuous but she always knew when the son of the chief was casting glances her way.

Now? She could barely get him to talk about anything other than the Dragon Eye or his flight suits. The older he grew the more sedate and closed off he became. Gone was the sarcastic babbling boy who hindered more than helped and was never where he should be. Now he delivered orders with a smooth confidence. He handled Snotlout's sass with even temper and tolerated the twins' shenanigans. If he wasn't spending time with her he was in the clubhouse with Fishlegs pouring over slides. Most of his evenings were spent working on side projects in his forge while she kept him company.

He stopped shaping the hot piece of metal and consulted his blueprints, stroking his chin with one hand. She held in a sigh. He was so good with his hands. It made her shiver and involuntarily clench her thighs together imagining what else those hands might be good with. The other boys, like Snotlout and Fishlegs, had hands like large meaty paws, strong and Viking-like, something she was supposed to admire but somehow found lacking. Instead she felt drawn to his- thin but perfectly masculine, nimble fingers gifted with creating all the crazy concoctions he dreamed up. Watching him add to the map, sketching her and Toothless, or capturing the beautiful landscapes around them was one of the more relaxing and companionable activities they did together. She was amazed at his sheer talent and saddened it took everyone so long to see it.

She drummed her fingers on the table top as he wiped sweat from his forehead with his arm.

"It's really warm in here, maybe you should just take your shirt off. I won't mind."

"Maybe," he said off-handed, plunging the long piece of metal he had been working into a well of water, steam hissing and curling into the air.

She frowned. She basically insinuated he should take his clothes off for her. Not even a blush or stutter from him, like she had no effect on him at all.

It was just another test in the list of things she had done in an attempt to regain his attention. When had that adorable little dork turned into a young man who was too cool to care? Like this afternoon when she had _bent over_ for him, on purpose, and he didn't even turn his head.

They often brushed down their dragons together at the end of the day in the stables, chatting and laughing over who won the day's most stupid comment award between Snotlout and Tuffnut. They had an official tally going, notched into one of the stable posts. Tuffnut was winning, courtesy of the running commentary about his chicken.

He talked to her like normal while he used his knife to carve the post, but his gaze evaded hers and never strayed from Toothless or the water bucket once he joined her.

She wasn't the type of girl to play up her sexuality, in the past she didn't need to, but then she always held his rapt attention. Apparently this was no longer the case and called for drastic measures. Perhaps something so obvious he couldn't possibly ignore it? As she scrubbed the brilliant blue scales of Stormfly's flank a plan formed in her mind. She waited until he was standing just behind her and pretended to lose grip of her scrub brush.

"Oh! Damn thing is so slippery," she said, leaning over to retrieve it in the most suggestive manner she could, a hand on Stormfly for balance, one leg straight to bear her weight and the other knee bent. She curved her back and stuck out her bottom, and even flipped her hair on the way back up.

He focused on a patch behind Toothless' ear, oblivious. She almost snapped her scrub brush in two. Toothless tilted his head at her strange behavior; even his dragon payed more notice than he did.

Surely that would've reduced him to a blushing stammering mess back in the day. What did she have to do to get this dumb boy's attention? Take her top off?

She repressed a snort. That would certainly work, but she'd lose her dignity along with her shirt. She tossed the brush into the bucket with more force than necessary, causing soapy water to slosh out the side. He frowned and the motion of his brush slowed, but he didn't say anything as she stalked away.

Even now he still didn't realize anything was wrong. He leaned against his workbench, hands supporting his upper body weight while he studied his blueprints, completely engrossed.

She wanted to grab his stupid hammer and throw it at his stupid head for being so dense and not picking up on her signals. She had taken to winking at him lately. She bumped his hip the other night when he was polishing Toothless' saddle. Gods she had even stretched once, arching her spine and pushing out her chest on purpose. She stood closer to him than necessary, she brushed their hands together whenever possible, she touched his arm when they talked, she touched her neck, she touched her hair, she all but threw herself at him.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be the one desperately pursuing her and trying to get her attention. She seethed over how unfair it all was, how he flipped the tables on her so efficiently. The anger and frustration overwhelmed her and bubbled up in her throat until she thought she might burst. Though it was going to be awkward she couldn't hold back any longer and she spoke out loud before she could stop herself.

"Why don't you like me anymore?"

She winced as soon as the words left her mouth, the statement harsh and ill fitting in the silence.

He gave her a look. "What are you talking about? Of course I like you."

"Well I know you like me. I meant, why don't you _like_ me anymore?" She could see the confusion on his face. She dropped her own gaze and toyed with the end of her braid. "It's just, you used to notice me a lot more. I mean, I know we're really good friends and all now. But you used to stare at me, and you'd blush whenever I looked at you."

He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Astrid..."

"You're different now. You're not that little boy anymore. I just thought, you might notice I'm not that little girl anymore either."

He listened, face carefully constructed and blank. "Obviously I've noticed we've both grown."

"But you don't see me, Hiccup."

"What do you want me to say? You're my best friend..."

"That. That right there. Would the old Hiccup have ever wanted to be just my friend?"

"The old Hiccup?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Yes. The one who shot down a Night Fury to impress me."

His face darkened. "I don't think anyone really wants that Hiccup back."

She was startled at his sudden change in demeanor. "I do."

He scoffed. "Why? He was a scrawny little screw up."

"Quit talking about yourself like, like somehow your younger self was a different person."

"You started it," he said, pointing his pencil at her and turning back to his desk. "And he kind of was a different person."

"No, he wasn't. That was you-"

"Yeah, well thank you for painfully reminding me of that. Is this why you came in here tonight? To dredge up ghosts of the past?"

She couldn't hold back the anger in her tone. "No, I came to spend time with you. That's what _friends_ do, isn't it?"

This was turning into an argument faster than she wanted. He always had a comeback for everything, one of the more difficult aspects of getting into a debate with him.

"Yeah, it is. So what's your problem then?"

"You've changed."

"So? Isn't that a good thing?"

She stalled, unsure how to explain herself. He was purposely being obtuse and using his same old tactics to avoid her. An unpleasant notion twinged in the back of her mind, something he said bothered her but she wasn't sure why. She stilled when the realization dawned on her, and it raised a far more important question first.

"Hiccup," she said slowly. "Are you under the impression no one on Berk liked you? When you were younger?"

His shoulders hunched and his body tensed, giving her the answer. "I don't really want to talk about this," he said.

"Clearly we need to," she said firmly.

"No, Astrid," he said sharply, turning to face her. "We really, really don't."

It seemed she had stumbled onto the pulse point of his issues. He had never spoken so harshly with her and his face was dark and intense.

"You're a hero. Everyone loves you."

He threw his hands up. "Right, okay."

"You don't believe me?"

He turned his back to her, anxiously fiddling with his paintbrushes. "I told you I don't want to talk about this."

"You know, I do think the Dragon Eye is important. There's still a lot we don't know about dragons and discovering all the new islands around here is really expanding our view of the world. But," she paused, looking at his stiff figure, "none of that is really dealing with all the things you're going to need to do as chief someday, is it?"

"Astrid..." he said, lowering his head in annoyance.

"You've changed a lot, but we're still close and I know you better than anyone. I think you're hiding out here. You're avoiding your dad and Berk, and absorbing yourself in this little project categorizing dragons so you don't have to deal with it. Am I right?"

He sighed and his hands clenched tighter. "What does it matter? I'm sure no one minds having me out of the way."

"That's not true. You know that's not true. Every time we go home you get mobbed by people happy to see you. Especially your dad."

He lifted a hand off the bench in a flinch, then tapped his knuckles on the wood.

"Is this really what you think, Hiccup? Have always thought? That no one cared about you?"

Her persistence broke his resolve. He whirled around, careful blank facade shattered and bottled emotion painfully uncapped.

"Oh come _on_ , Astrid. It wasn't hard to see. Everyone always laughed or had some comment. Didn't help that every time something went wrong my dad reamed me out in front of the entire tribe. I'm sure that inspired a lot of public confidence in me." His sarcasm was harsh and bitter.

"But Hiccup, that didn't mean no one cared about you. Sure, sometimes you messed things up, but-"

"But what? There's Stoick the Vast, large and brave as his name implies, and there's his son, Hiccup the nuisance, the talking fish bone who's the worst Viking in history, like some cosmic _joke_. They may have quote 'cared' about me, because they had to, but they didn't respect me or believe in me. How am I supposed to lead those people? You can't be chief to people who remember you being yelled at in the village square for fucking up everything you've ever touched!"

Her breath stalled in her throat and her stomach twisted. This was how he saw himself?

"That's not, it's not true-"

"Oh, no it is true. There is nothing about me those people want in a chief. I just screw up everything, I'm not assertive, I'm small and weak and I'm not even- ….whole." He swallowed hard and lowered his gaze to the ground. "I don't even have two legs to stand on."

That spurred her into action. She stood up and slammed her hand on the table. "Don't you _dare_. You lost your limb _saving_ us, your entire tribe, or don't you remember that? Because you were right. You were right the entire time and everyone just needed to see it. And they do now, Hiccup, I promise you. Every time they see you and your leg, they're reminded that because of you we're all alive and riding dragons around." She sighed and scratched at a knot in the wood of the table, her tone softer. "I'm not trying to say you're not allowed to be traumatized by the loss of your foot. I can't even imagine the pain, physical and emotional, you've gone through. I've seen how much it hurts you sometimes. Have you ever tried talking to Gobber about this? Because I bet he knows exactly how you feel, twice over."

He shook his head minutely.

"Well you should. No one thinks Gobber is weak for his losses, and no one thinks of you that way either. To the rest of us your leg is a symbol of the most brave and altruistic thing a Viking has ever done. A chief protects his own, isn't that what your dad always told you? That is exactly what you did, apparently for people you thought hated you. Those are qualities any tribe would be _lucky_ to have in their chief."

He was silent, unable to meet her eyes.

"If you think those people aren't behind you or believe you can someday lead this village, you're wrong. Don't you remember the first Snoggletog we had with the dragons? When Toothless left to find your helmet?"

He shrugged.

"All of our dragons flew away and everyone panicked. And who did they turn to for answers? Not Stoick the Vast. You. They came running to you, Berk's resident dragon expert. They believed you could find out what happened and that's exactly what you did. The dragons have a nesting season and you saved Snoggletog too. They came to you for answers and you provided them. You don't need to earn everyone's confidence, you already have it."

He didn't seem to have a response to that. She smirked. Finally Mr. Sarcastic didn't have a handy quip at the ready.

"Hiccup, don't you get it?"

He exaggerated a shrug and rolled his eyes, leaning against his bench. "Fine. If you say so."

"You know I'm right. Everyone's proud of you. Your dad is proud of you."

"Astrid," he snapped.

"That's another sore subject, isn't it?"

"You're just dragging this all out through the mud, aren't you."

"I know things weren't always the best between you two, that was evident. But he's proud of you, the real you. His face lights up every time he sees you when we go home."

"Okay."

Her mouth twisted. "This. This is the most frustrating thing about you. Did you get this stubborn streak from Stoick?"

"Apparently the only thing I got from him," he said, giving her a look.

"You know what, fine. It's fine you're using this time to run from all your responsibilities and escape the pressure back home. I won't stop you or tell you what to do-"

"Thanks for your consideration."

"-but, you can't avoid me out here."

He visibly tensed, knuckles white as they gripped the edge of the bench behind him.

"Yeah, you're not getting out of this one. So, answer my earlier question. Why don't you like me anymore?"

"I told you, I like you just fine."

"You never do anything about it."

His nervousness was evident. "Well, uh, I don't know."

She sighed, crossing her arms and cocking her hip. "You were so obvious before, Hiccup. Then something changed. You no longer have that dopey grin on your face. Your eyes don't follow me everywhere I go. You don't do things to impress me. You're closed off and even though you laugh and you're the happiest you've been in awhile out here, you seem content to be friends and nothing more."

"I guess."

"This whole conversation has been very one-sided. I feel like I've just been talking at you while you sulk and throw out your usual sarcasm. Give me something to work with, here."

"Do I have to?"

"If you weren't on the other side of the room I'd punch you."

"I don't doubt that."

"Tell me this, Hiccup. How come all the times we've kissed, I've always been the one to initiate it?"

"Because I don't want to get slapped?"

"You know I wouldn't slap you, that's ridiculous."

"I don't know that! You just threatened to punch me!"

"Trying to get you to open up is about as easy as pulling a tooth."

"Oh right, okay. Come on Hiccup, just bare your soul for me, we do this all the time, it's not awkward and completely uncomfortable at all!"

She frowned. "It's just me, though. If you can't open up to me, who can you?"

He sighed, shifted his weight, then settled back on his good leg. "I'm not trying to be difficult, but I also really don't like talking about this. You're asking me to purposely put myself in a vulnerable position, you can't expect me to just _want_ -"

"Where is that boy who showed me his biggest secret?" she asked softly.

"What?" he said, slightly startled.

"Where is that sweet boy who started doing amazing at dragon training, and when I followed him to figure out why, he let me in and showed me Toothless?"

"That boy grew up."

"Well it's a shame, because I really liked him."

He pressed his lips together and looked away.

"I'm frustrated. I've been trying to get your attention and you're oblivious. I can't seem to get a reaction out of you no matter what I do."

She heard him snort but he didn't respond.

"You say you still like me but you don't act like it. Why haven't you ever kissed me, Hiccup?" she asked, her question pinning him down.

"Because, I- this is, really..." He ran a flustered hand through his hair and resignation took over. "Because, well, you told Heather we were 'just friends.' I don't know how that's any clearer."

Her hands slipped out of their crossed position. "Who told you that?"

"I have my sources."

"Fishlegs?"

He rolled his eyes to the side and she knew that was a yes.

"When I told Heather that, I was confused. You weren't admitting anything so why should I, especially to her? It's not how I actually feel." She paused for a moment, watching him. "Is that why you backed off? Is that why you never did anything about us?"

"Astrid," he breathed. He couldn't face her. He turned away, fiddling with the corner of his blueprints. "Because... because as much as the rejection of the entire village, and, and my dad... hurt... I couldn't, I couldn't take that, not from... not from you."

Her mouth opened and she placed a hand over her heart. "Hiccup..."

"If I put myself out on the line and you rejected me, I think, I think Toothless and I would've flown away and never looked back. I avoided you because I didn't want to know. If I never put myself out there you couldn't turn me down. And if, if being friends was all you wanted, well I could handle that. I was willing to be whatever you wanted to be. So that was fine. We could be friends, like you said, and that's that. I was happy you even wanted to be my friend, to be honest. Why would you ever want me?"

Gods, once he started rambling the truth came pouring out and he couldn't stop himself. She figured he had this pent up for a very long time and it was probably cathartic to release it, even if completely terrifying for him.

"I'm sure people would laugh. Why would the best warrior and prettiest girl on Berk go for the scrawny weird kid who always fucks everything up and is the biggest disappointment in the Archipelago? He has nothing to offer her at all." He closed his eyes and her heart clenched at the evidence of grief on his face. "Except, of course, his bride will be the chief's wife. That's the only reason any girl would ever marry him, right?"

"I don't care about being the chief's wife," she insisted.

"Yeah, I know," he said sadly, looking down at the floor.

"No, that's, that's not what I meant," she backpedaled. He misunderstood, but she couldn't outright say she would be more than happy to be the chief's wife too, could she? Wasn't it too soon for statements like that?

"All I meant was, I'm above petty gossip. I don't need to marry for power around here."

"I'm well aware of that too."

"Hiccup, stop taking things the wrong way. Yeah, it's true I don't need you."

He nodded, fidgeting with the handle of his tongs.

"But, wouldn't you rather I _want_ you? It doesn't matter what title comes before or after your name, I like you for the kind of person you are. Isn't that better than always thinking I'm only with you because I want to be a chief's wife?"

He exhaled a large breath. "Yes," he admitted.

"That's what I thought. You being the chief's son has no bearing on my relationship with you."

"We're not in a relationship, Astrid."

"Friendship is a type of relationship. You are the one who has neglected to make it more. Did you just assume I would inevitably reject you?"

"Basically, yeah I guess," he mumbled.

She sighed dramatically. "You dumb boy."

He frowned with a flat look. "What did I just get done rambling about?"

"Why do you think I've kissed you so many times? I'm curious."

His face instantly closed in.

"Hiccup?"

"I'd like a new conversation please. Is this one almost over?"

"Not even close. Answer the question."

"Haven't I given you enough?" he said, voice low. "Haven't I given you enough to use against me?"

"Use against you? What are you even... Hiccup? Stop avoiding, and tell me," she persisted.

He dipped into silence again, jaw tight and turned his back to her, bracing himself against the bench. Another topic that touched a raw nerve. Whatever self destructive thoughts he had swirling around in the mess of his head, it couldn't be good.

"Hiccup?" she said, stepping toward him, nothing but kindness on her face even though he couldn't see it.

"Please, Astrid... don't make me say it."

"Say what? Hiccup, just _tell_ me."

He mumbled something, so low under his breath she couldn't hear.

"What did you say?"

He cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Pity."

" _Pity_? You think I'd only kiss you out of pity? Oh, Hiccup..."

Her heart broke for him.

She never realized the depth of his inner turmoil. He covered it so well, using sarcasm as an emotional shield to keep everyone out. She ignorantly assumed his acts of heroism had fixed everything, but it was clear now they hadn't. Even after all this time he never healed, still thought so little of himself.

For all his glances and watching her every move, he truly missed a lot of things about her when they were younger. Like how she was the only one who felt sympathy for him when he had made a mess of things, or how she liked him before he became a hero and he never needed to prove his worth to her.

She rounded the table, grabbed his arm and enveloped his stiff form into a hug. "You don't know me very well if you think I'd kiss anyone out of pity. And I know you know me. You're too hard on yourself and you're letting all those negative thoughts tune out rationality. Do you ever see me kiss Tuffnut? Or Snotlout? Ah, no, and _ugh_. Do I ever give Fishlegs a 'hey, great job saving the day' smooch? I don't think so. It's just you, babe."

He raised his eyebrow at that.

"So, I'll ask you again, do you still like me?"

His hands wavered uselessly at his sides. She placed her palms on his chest and looked up into his face earnestly, but he remained closed off as always. He brought his hands up to her shoulders.

"I don't... I don't know if I..."

She sighed and stepped away. "After everything we've discussed tonight, I thought how I feel about you is pretty clear. If you're not going to meet me in the middle I'm not going to waste my time. Even after all that I still don't get a reaction out of you."

"Astrid," he said, his face crumpling.

"Tell you what, Hiccup. It's always been me initiating things. I'm not going to do that anymore. If you want me, you have to kiss me. And I promise you, I won't give you a reason to get on Toothless and never come back."

She headed for the door, stopping to turn and look at him. "Think about it, Haddock. You could have everything you want, if you'd only let yourself."

She stepped out into the chilly night air, rubbing her arms to ward off the cold she felt in the wind and her heart. She glanced back at the glowing little window, lit by the fire inside. She caught sight of him, slumped onto the stool and head in his hands, resting his elbows on the table. It had been a conversation fraught with deep emotions and she felt exhausted; no doubt he was just as tired. He rubbed at his face. Though his back was toward her, his shoulders rose with a deep intake of breath and then deflated as he exhaled. He used the palm of his hand to wipe at his other cheek.

She was so naive. In hindsight she should have known. A couple years and the sudden approval of his tribe could not wipe away sixteen years of ridicule, shame, and parental disappointment. Nothing was holding him back except himself, but she didn't stop to think about how truly debilitating that hurdle was.

She regretted giving him that ultimatum. If he couldn't get over the pain of the past, he might never meet her challenge, even when she'd all but placed her heart at his feet. What was she thinking, giving him the power to reject her? That wasn't her, that wasn't how their dynamic worked. She kicked ass and took names, not waited with heartsick baited breath on a boy who might never come. She just wanted to be with him, it didn't matter who he was, even if subconsciously 'the chief's wife' did have a nice ring to it. Marrying him seemed to be the plan she was working toward all along, though it was unlikely to happen if he couldn't even find the courage to kiss her. Truly, she had given him a gift. For someone who felt powerless all his life, now he controlled the entire situation. She hadn't intended it, but there it was all the same.

Unsettled, she headed to the stables. She couldn't go back to her empty hut situated right next to his and stew all night. Stormfly chirped happily when she entered.

"Hey there, girl," she said, throat scratchy from the lump in her throat. She patted her dragon, finding comfort with leathery scales instead of his arms.

"Oh, I forgot to polish your saddle today, didn't I," she said to herself. "I stormed out of here early thanks to a silly boy who doesn't know what he wants."

She found the polish and hooked the saddle onto the wall closest to the door where moonlight filtered in. She tried to focus on the activity to clear her mind, but she was so lost in thought she didn't pay attention to anything else.

Two warm hands landed on her hips. She jumped and bit her tongue to hold in a shriek. He spun her around and backed her up against the stable wall. She had a split second to draw in a sharp breath as one hand cupped the back of her neck and the other her waist. His mouth set firmly on hers and she melted.

His lips were soft, the kiss gentle but insistent, passionate and raw, filled with everything pent up he couldn't say. The hand on her waist pulled her hips to his, pressing their bodies together. His thumb caressed her cheekbone tenderly and her knees almost buckled were it not for the wall and his support. She was caught off-guard, unaware he could ever be this sensual. Her heart thumped erratically against her ribs; tingles settled low in her belly, numbed her fingers and toes, swelled her lips. After a moment he drew away and she instantly lamented the loss of contact, looking up into his face with star glazed eyes.

He cupped her cheeks with both hands. "First of all," he said, voice dangerously low and gravelly, "You have no idea how many _reactions_ you've caused me."

She tried to suck in a breath but it caught on her heart in her throat.

"I've wanted you for such a long time but I held back because I thought I was doing the right thing. Then you started all this flirting, and _teasing_ me on purpose, Gods you made it so difficult." His fingers slipped into the back of her braid.

"I would never," she said, finding her voice.

He laughed darkly. "Those scrub brushes aren't that slippery."

"You did notice..."

"Of course I noticed. I always notice you."

Was it possible her heart could actually burst out of her chest?

"I thought, I thought you were..."

"I just got a lot better at hiding it, milady."

"Oh..." Why did she sound so breathless?

"Second, I want to thank you. For knocking some sense into me. And for letting me know things aren't as bad as I thought they were. With everything."

"No problem," she said weakly. His hands were hot against her skin, she was so light headed she worried about fainting, which would be utterly mortifying. Was he always this tall? This devastatingly handsome? When did that _happen_?

"Third," he said, his eyes dropping to her lips, "I think I know what I want."

A new wash of tingles overtook her and she leaned hard against the wall in an attempt to support her quivering knees. He brushed her cheek with the tip of his nose, then closed their distance. She sighed happily when this kiss was sweet and slow, taking his time to savor. His tongue lazily brushed her bottom lip and a shock of pleasure streaked through her stomach. She gripped his arms to steady herself, the muscles underneath her palms understated but toned and strong from riding dragons and metal working. Her thighs naturally parted for one of his legs and her heart set to singing when those hands she always admired were finally put to good use.

"Oh... my... Gods. Uh..."

They broke apart and whipped around toward the door.

Tuffnut stood in the doorway displacing the moonlight, mouth dropped open in shock.

"Oh man, this is crazy! Is this what you two do in your spare time?"

"Tuffnut, just, um," Hiccup said, holding out his hands warily.

"I'm really sorry, but you know I'm going to tell everyone, right? I'm incapable of keeping a secret this big."

Hiccup looked at Astrid. She shrugged and smiled at him.

He scratched his head. "It's okay. Sorry, um... sorry you... caught us?"

Tuffnut snorted. "Yeah, well next time get a hut."

"What were you doing out here anyway?" Astrid said, hands on her hips.

"The chicken feed is in here. She wanted a midnight snack. Aw, damn it!" he snapped his fingers. "You two sucking face means I lost our bet."

Hiccup arched his eyebrow. "You... had a bet? With the chicken? About Astrid and me?"

"Yeah. That chicken is good. She usually wins." Tuffnut looked genuinely disappointed.

Astrid placed a hand on her forehead and Hiccup smirked.

"I think that deserves another notch, don't you?"

"Oh yeah," she said, rolling her eyes. "Mark it."


End file.
